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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 


URBANA,  MARCH,  1901. 


BULLETIN    No.  65. 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  CARE  OF  EARTH  ROADS.* 


BY  IRA  O.  BAKER,  M.  AM.  Soc.  C.  E.,  PROFESSOR  OF  CIVIL  ENGINEERING, 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


In  Illinois  at  the  present  time  a  great  deal  of  attention  is  given 
to  questions  relating-  to  good  roads.  Although  there  is  consider- 
able difference  as  to  details,  all  agree  that  good  roads  are  of  some 
financial  advantage  to  farmers,  and  add  materially  to  the  comfort 
and  pleasure  of  rural  life.  There  is  a  remarkable  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  wisdom  of  attempting1  the  construction  of  a  gen- 
eral system  of  permanently  hard  roads;  but  all  are  agreed  that  for 
several  years  to  come  many  of  the  main  roads  will  have  only  an 
earth  surface,  even  though  the  state  immediately  enters  upon  a 
comparatively  elaborate  scheme  of  hard  road  construction,  and 
that  under  any  and  all  circumstances  many  of  the  roads  of  Illinois 
will  always  be  built  of  the  native  soil.  In  other  words,  whether 


*There  have  recently  appeared  in  engineering  journals  several  papers  by  Ira 
O.  Baker,  Professor  of  Civil  Engineering  in  the  University  of  Illinois,  on  various 
phases  of  the  good  roads  question,  which  have  differed  materially  from  much 
that  has  recently  been  written  upon  this  subject;  and  as  Professor  Baker  seems  to 
have  considered  the  road  question  quite  carefully,  I  have  requested  him  to  pre- 
pare this  bulletin,  addressed  to  the  farmers  chiefly,  upon  Earth  Roads — a.  subject 
of  great  importance  to  the  rural  population,  but  one  which  seems  to  have  been 
almost  entirely  overlooked  by  writers  on  good  roads. 

E.  DAVENPORT,  Director. 
73 


74  BULLETIN  NO.  65  {March, 

the  state  is  upon  the  eve  of  an  era  of  hard  road  improvement  or 
not,  for  a  large  portion  of  our  state  earth  roads  must,  at  least  for 
a  long1  time,  continue  to  be  the  only  highways,  and  in  all  parts 
of  the  state  the  minor  roads  will  always  be  earth  roads. 

At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  earth  roads  can  be  made  second  to 
none,  but  at  other  seasons  they  are  almost  impassable.  Can  any- 
thing reasonable  be  done  to  improve  the  average  earth  road,  either 
in  its  most  favorable  or  in  its  worst  condition?  The  object  of  this 
article  is  to  offer  some  suggestions  as  an  answer  to  this  question. 
These  suggestions  will  be  grouped  under  three  heads,  viz.:  I.,  Con- 
struction; II.,  Maintenance;  and  III.,  Administration.  The  term 
"earth  roads  "  will  be  employed  as  applying  to  roads  built  of  loam 
and  clay,  and  subsequently  sand  roads  will  be  considered. 

I.     CONSTRUCTION. 

In  the  greater  portion  of  Illinois  the  public  highways  have 
mostly  already  been  opened,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  roads 
are  finished  as  far  as  construction  is  concerned 

LOCATION. 

Most  of  the  roads  in  Illinois  are  already  established,  and  farm 
buildings  have  been  located  accordingly:  therefore  it  is  not  wise  to 
•waste  many  words  on  this  phase  of  the  subject.  However,  it  may 
be  permissible  to  say  that  in  a  broken  country  the  value  of  a  road 
for  transportation  purposes  can  sometimes  be  materially  improved 
by  going  round  the  hill  instead  of  over  it.  Again,  if  the  road  is 
likely  to  have  any  considerable  travel,  it  may  be  wiser  to  spend 
considerable  money  for  a  right  of  way  through  the  section  instead 
of  locating  the  road  on  the  section  line.  Farther,  notwithstand- 
the  farmer's  justifiable  dislike  of  non-rectangular  fields,  it  may  be 
wiser  for  the  road  to  run  irregularly  through  the  section  instead  of 
on  the  land-survey  lines,  particularly  if  by  so  doing  a  steep  grade 
is  obviated  or  a  location  is  obtained  where  the  road  is  upon  bet- 
ter soil  or  is  less  liable  to  damage  by  water.  These  points  are 
mentioned  here  as  a  reminder  only  that  in  the  location  of  a  road  in 
a  rough  country,  they  should  not  be  entirely  overlooked. 

WIDTH. 

In  Illinois  the  law  and  practice  have  established  the  width  of 
the  road  probably  beyond  possible  change.  The  right  of  way  is 
almost  always  66  feet.  The  law  requires  that  a  strip  equal  in 
width  to  one-tenth  of  the  right  of  way  shall  be  reserved  for  pedes- 
trians on  each  side  between  the  property  line  and  the  ditch.  This 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  CARE  OF  EARTH  ROADS.  75 

makes  the  wag-on  way  about  53  feet  wide.  This  is  probably  none  too 
much  for  an  earth  road,  since  the  travel  can  be  distributed  over 
a  greater  width  and  thus  prevent  the  surface  from  being-  cut  up  so 
much  when  it  is  soft.  With  the  possibility  of  the  construction  of 
bicycle  paths  on  the  side  portions,  and  with  the  possibility  of  the 
construction  of  electric  railroads  in  the  center  portion,  it  is  not  cer- 
tain that  the  right  of  way  of  the  main  roads  is  extravg-antly  wide, 
as  is  sometimes  claimed. 

GRADES. 

Of  course  the  hills  should  be  cut  down  and  the  hollows  filled 
up  as  far  as  practicable.  Ordinarily,  and  properly,  the  road  when 
first  opened  runs  down  into  the  hollows  and  up  over  the  hills;  and, 
as  time  or  money  is  available,  the  hig-h  places  are  cut  down  and  the 
low  ones  filled  up.  The  effect  of  a  steep  hill  in  limiting-  the  amount 
that  can  be  hauled  over  a  road  is  so  apparent  to  those  who  use  and 
care  for  the  road,  that  local  authorities  can  be  trusted  to  make  all 
reasonable  improvements  in  this  line.  However,  it  may  be  well  to 
mention  that  the  more  the  surface  is  improved  the  more  the  grades 
should  be  reduced.  This  needs  no  argument. 

EMBANKMENTS. 

When  an  embankment  is  to  be  built,  care  should  be  taken  that 
the  earth  is  deposited  in  layers— the  thinner  the  better, — so  that  it 
shall  settle  uniformly.  These  layers  should  be  kept  lower  in  the 
center  than  on  the  sides,  since  when  built  in  this  way  the  sides  of 
the  embankment  are  less  liable  to  slide  down.  If  the  earth  is  moved 
with  the  drag--scoop  scraper,  care  should  be  taken  to  level  down 
each  scraper  full,  since  otherwise  the  earth  will  settle  unevenly  and 
leave  the  surface  full  of  hills  and  hollows,  which  are  very  annoying 
to  travel  over,  and  when  it  rains  the  hollows  are  filled  with  water 
which  is  soon  worked  into  mud,  thus  rendering-  the  road  nearly  im- 
passable. A  little  care  in  this  matter  is  very  beneficial.  If  the 
very  best  result  is  desired  in  the  shortest  time,  the  layers  should  be 
harrowed  and  rolled.  The  ordinary  farm  roller  is  too  light  for  this 
work,  and  should  therefore  be  loaded  as  heavily  as  possible  with 
stone  or  other  heavy  material. 

DRAINAGE. 

Drainage  is  the  most  important  matter  to  be  considered  in  the 
construction  of  earth  roads.  No  road,  whether  earth  or  stone,  can 
long  remain  good  without  drainage.  Drainage  alone  will  often 
change  a  bad  earth  road  to  a  good  one,  and  the  best  road  may  be 
destroyed  by  the  absence  of  proper  drainage.  Water  is  the  only 
agent  that  destroys  earth  roads.  Water  and  dirt  make  mud,  and 


76  BULLETIN  NO.  65.  {March, 

mud  makes  bad  going.  The  dirt  is  always  in  the  road,  and  the 
water  comes  at  unpropitious  times,  as  rain  or  snow.  The  water 
softens  the  earth,  the  horses'  feet  and  wag-on  wheels  mix  and  knead 
it,  and  it  soon  becomes  impassable  mud;  finally  the  frost  freezes  it, 
and  the  second  state  of  the  road  is  worse  than  the  first — for  a  time 
at  least.  Further,  if  the  water  is  allowed  to  course  down  the  mid- 
dle of  the  road,  it  will  wash  away  the  earth  and  leave  gullies  in  the 
surface  that  must  be  laboriously  filled  up  by  the  traffic  or  the  hand 
of  man.  No  road,  however  well  made  otherwise,  can  eadure  if  the 
water  collects  or  remains  on  it.  Prompt  and  thorough  drainage  is 
a  vital  essential  in  all  road  construction. 

A  perfectly  drained  road  will  have  three  systems  of  drainage, 
each  of  which  must  receive  special  attention  if  the  best  results  are 
to  be  obtained.  This  is  true  whether  the  trackway  be  iron,  broken 
stone,  gravel,  or  earth,  and  it  is  emphatically  true  of  earth.  These 
three  systems  are,  viz.:  underdrainage,  side  ditches,  and  surface 
drainage. 

UNDERDRAINAGE. — Many,  if  not  most,  country  highways  could 
be  considerably  improved  by  thorough  subdrainage.  Most  roads 
need  underdrainage  even  though  water  does  not  stand  in  the  side 
ditches.  Most  people  appear  to  think  that  the  sole  object  of  tile 
drainage  is  to  remove  the  surface  water,  but  this  is  only  a  small 
part  of  the  object  of  the  underdrainage  of  roads. 

The  most  important  object  of  underdrainage  is  to  lower  the 
water  level  in  the  soil.  The  action  of  the  sun  and  the  breeze  will 
finally  dry  the  surface  of  the  road,  but  if  the  foundation  is  soft  and 
spongy,  the  wheels  wear  ruts  and  horse's  feet  make  depressions  be- 
tween the  ruts.  The  first  shower  fills  these  depressions  with  water, 
and  the  road  is  soon  a  mass  of  mud.  A  good  road  can  not  be  main- 
tained without  a  good  foundation,  and  an  undrained  soil  is  a  poor 
foundation.  A  dry  subsoil  can  support  almost  any  load.  A  friend 
of  the  writer,  an  intelligent  man  and  a  close  observer,  claims  that 
even  in  a  dry  time  the  easiest  digging  on  or  around  a  farm  is  just 
under  the  surface  of  a  road  having  no  underdrainage.  His  theory 
is  that  except  in  the  road  vegetation  is  continually  pumping  the 
water  up  from  the  subsoil  and  giving  it  out  into  the  air,  while  in 
the  road  the  compact  surface  prevents  evaporation  of  the  water  in 
the  subsoil.  Therefore  the  road  needs  underdrainage  more  than 
the  field. 

A  second  object  of  underdrainage  is  to  dry  the  ground  quickly 
after  a  freeze.  When  the  frost  conies  out  of  the  ground  in  the 
spring,  it  thaws  quite  as  much  from  the  bottom  as  from  the  top. 
If  the  land  is  underdrained,  the  water  when  released  by  thawing 


IQOI.]  CONSTRUCTION   AND   CARE   OF   EARTH    ROADS.  77 

from  below  will  be  immediately  carried  away.  This  is  particularly 
important  in  road  drainage,  since  the  foundation  of  the  road  will 
then  remain  solid  and  the  road  itself  will  not  be  cut  up  like  un- 
tiled roads. 

A  third,  and  sometimes  a  very  important,  object  of  subdrain- 
age  is  to  remove  what  may  be  called  the  underflow.  In  some 
places  where  the  ground  is  comparatively  dry  when  it  freezes  in 
the  fall,  it  will  be  very  wet  in  the  spring  when  the  frost  comes 
out — surprisingly  so  considering-  the  dryness  before  freezing1.  The 
explanation  is  that  after  the  ground  freezes,  water  rises  slowly  in 
the  soil  by  hydrostatic  pressure  of  the  water  in  higher  places;  and 
if  it  is  not  drawn  off  by  underdrainage  it  saturates  the  subsoil  and 
rises  as  the  frost  goes  out,  so  that  ground  which  was  compara- 
tively dry  when  it  froze  is  practically  saturated  when  it  thaws. 

The  underdrainage  of  a  road  not  only  removes  the  water,  but 
prevents,  or  greatly  reduces,  the  destructive  effect  of  frost.  Frost 
is  destructive  only  where  there  is  moisture.  The  upheaving  action 
of  frost  is  due  to  presence  of  water.  Water  expands  on  freezing 
and  loosens  the  soil;  when  thawing  takes  place,  the  ground  is  left 
spongy  and  wet,  and  the  roads  "break  up.1'  If  the  roads  are  kept 
dry  they  will  not  break  up.  Underdrainage  helps  to  keep  them 
dry. 

It  is  the  universal  observation  that  roads'in  low  places  which 
are  tiled  dry  out  sooner  than  the  untiled  roads  on  the  high  land. 
The  tiled  roads  never  get  so  bad  as  those  not  tiled.  There  is  no 
way  in  which  road  taxes  can  be  spent  to  better  advantage  than  in 
tiling  the  roads. 

All  roads,  except  those  on  pure  sand,  can  be  materially  im- 
proved by  tile  drainage.  This  is  the  opinion  of  many  farmers,  in 
several  communities,  with  whom  the  writer  has  conversed  on  this 
subject.  In  each  community  this  is  universally  the  opinion  of  the 
farmers  who  have  had  the  best  success  in  draining  their  own  farms. 
The  cost  of  tile  drainage  is  not  great,  say,  about  50  cents  per  rod 
or  $160  per  mile;  and  the  improvement  is  permanent  with  no 
expense  for  maintenance,  and  the  benefit  is  immediate  and  certain. 
Farther,  tile  drainage  is  the  very  best  preparation  for  a  gravel 
or  a  stone  road.  Gravel  or  broken  stone  placed  upon  an  undrained 
foundation  is  almost  sure  to  sink  gradually,  whatever  its  thickness; 
whereas  a  thinner  layer  upon  an  underdrained  roadbed  will  give 
much  better  service.  "Roads  tiled  without  gravel  are  better  than 
roads  graveled  without  tile.'1 

The  road  should  be  underdrained  so  as  to  keep  the  water  level 
well  below  the  road  surface.  In  most  localities  this  can  be  accom- 


?8  BULLETIN  NO.  65.  [March> 

plished  reasonably  well  by  laying-  a  line  of  farm  tile  3  or  3^  feet 
below  the  road  surface  along"  one  side  of  the  roadway.  It  is  some- 
times claimed  that  there  should  be  a  tile  on  each  side  of  the  road. 
Some  tests  recently  made  by  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  (not 
yet  published)  seem  to  indicate  that  one  line  will  give  fairly  good 
drainage  under  the  most  adverse  conditions.  The  experiment  con- 
sisted in  the  drainage  of  a  piece  of  land  selected  as  the  worst  that 
could  be  found  in  a  part  of  the  state  notorious  as  having  a  large 
area  of  hand-pan  which  it  was  generally  considered  could  not  be 
underdrained  "because  the  soil  held  water  like  a  jug."  Lines  of 
tile  were  placed  21/?  feet  deep  and  50  feet  apart.  The  water  level 
at  a  point  midway  between  the  lines  of  tiles  was  lowered  18 
inches,  when  at  the  same  time  the  water  level  in  the  undrained 
portion  of  the  field  was  only  6  inches  below  the  surface.  In 
this  case  the  surface  of  the  ground  water  had  a  slope  of  1  foot 
in  25  feet,  but  in  a  more  porous  soil  the  slope  would  be  much 
less.  Therefore  a  single  line  of  tile  3  or  2>J>4  feet  deep,  if  of  ade- 
quate size,  will  give  nearly  perfect  drainage;  and  a  second  line  will 
not  materially  improve  it.  For  example,  in  Fig.  1,  if  A  represents 


c 

.c' 

D' 

__-— — ' 

A' 

FIG.  1. 

the  first  tile,  the  surface  of  the  ground  water  is  represented  by  the 
lines  ABC.  If  a  second  line  of  tile,  D,  is  laid,  the  water  surface 
will  be  A  B  D,  the  second  line  draining  only  the  comparatively 
small  portion  C  B  D.  The  diagram  shows  that  a  single  line  well 
below  the  surface  is  far  better  than  two  shallow  ones.  For  exam- 
ple, lowering  the  tile  A  6inches,  low.ers  the  water  surface  to  A'  C', 
which  represents  better  drainage  than  the  line  A  B  D  with  the  two 
lines. 

Some  writers  on  good  roads  advocate  the  use  of  a  line  of  tile 
under  the  middle  of  the  traveled  portion,  and  some  advocate  a  line 
on  each  side  of  the  wheelway.  -  The  object  sought  by  these  tile  is 
rapid  drainage,  and  therefore  it  is  urged  that  they  should  be  laid 
near  the  surface.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  water  will  reach  the 
tile,  since  the  road  surface  when  wet  is  puddled  by  the  traffic,  which 
prevents  the  water  percolating  through  the  soil;  and  it  is  certain 
that  in  clay  or  loam  the  drainage  thus  obtained  is  of  no  practical 


IgOI.]  CONSTRUCTION   AND   CARE   OF   EARTH   ROADS.  79 

value.  More  than  one  farmer  has  tried  to  drain  his  barnyard  by 
laying-  tile  near  the  surface,  always  without  appreciable  effect. 

While  a  line  of  tile  on  one  side  of  the  road  is  usually  sufficient, 
there  is  often  a  great  difference  as  to  the  side  on  which  it  should  be 
laid.  If  one  side  of  the  road  is  higher  than  the  other,  the  tile 
should  be  on  the  high  side  to  intercept  the  ground  water  that  is 
flowing1  down  the  slope  under  the  surface.  Sometimes  a  piece  of 
road  is  wet  because  of  a  spring1  in  the  vicinity;  or  perhaps  the  road 
is  muddy  because  of  a  stratum  which  bring-s  the  water  to  the  road 
from  hig-her  ground;  in  either  case,  tap  the  source  of  supply  with  a 
line  of  tile  instead  of  trying-  to  improve  the  road  by  piling1  up  earth. 

The  tile  should  be  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the  side  ditch,  below 
the  frost  line.  Of  course,  the  tile  should  have  a  uniform  grade, 
and  a  sufficient  fall,  and  an  adequate  outlet.  The  size  of  the  tile 
required  will  depend  upon  the  length  of  the  line  and  the  grade  of 
the  ditch,  but  local  experience  in  farm  drainag-e  is  likely  to  be  a 
better  guide  than  any  general  statement  that  can  be  made  here. 
Farm  drainage  is  almost  certain  to  precede  road  drainage  in  any 
particular  locality. 

It  is  hoped  that  in  this  day  and  age  of  the  world  no  Illinoisan 
will  attempt  to  follow  several  writers  on  good  roads  in  the  use  of 
such  substitutes  for  tile  as  the  following,  which  are  illustrated  in 
two  official  publications  open  before  the  writer:  "subdrains  made 
with  field  stones,"  "subdrains  made  of  bundles  of  brush,"  "sub- 
drains  made  of  logs  and  faggots,"  "  subdrains  made  of  brick." 

SIDE  DITCHES. --The  side  ditches  are  to  receive  the  water  from 
the  surface  of  the  traveled  way,  and  should  carry  it  rapidly  and 
entirely  away  from  the  roadside.  They  are  useful,  also,  to  inter- 
cept and  carry  off  the  water  that  would  otherwise  flow  from  the 
side  hills  upon  the  road.  Ordinarily  they  need  not  be  deep,  and  if 
possible  should  have  a  broad,  flaring  side  toward  the  traveled  way, 
to  prevent  accident  if  a  vehicle  should  be  crowded  to  the  extreme 
side  of  the  roadway.  The  outside  bank  should  be  flat  enough  to 
prevent  caving.  The  proper  form  of  ditch  is  easily  made  by  the 
usual  road  machine  or  road  grader.  The  side  ditch  should  have  a 
free  outlet  into  some  stream,  so  as  to  carry  the  water  entirely  away 
from  the  road.  No  good  road  can  be  obtained  with  side  ditches 
that  hold  the  water  until  it  evaporates.  Much  alleged  road  work 
is  a  positive  damage  for  this  reason.  Piling  up  the  earth  in  the 
middle  of  the  road  is  perhaps  in  itself  well  enough,  but  leaving 
undrained  holes  at  the  side  of  the  road  probably  more  than  coun- 
terbalances the  benefits  of  the  embankment.  A  road  between  long 
•ertificial  ponds  is  always  inferior  and  is  often  impassable.  It  is 


8o  BULLETIN  NO.  65.  [March, 

cheaper  and  better  to  make  a  lower  embankment,  and  to  drain 
thoroughly  the  holes  at  the  side  of  the  roads.  Often  the  public 
funds  can  be  more  wisely  used  in  making1  ditches  in  adjoining  pri- 
vate lands  than  in  making  ponds  at  the  roadside  in  an  attempt 
to  improve  the  road  by  raising  the  surface. 

When  the  road  is  in  an  excavation,  great  care  should  be  taken 
that  a  side  ditch  is  provided  on  each  side  to  carry  away  the  water 
so  that  it  shall  not  run  down  the  middle  of  the  road — as  is  fre- 
quently the  case.  Every  road  should  have  side  ditches,  even  one 
that  runs  straight  down  the  side  of  a  hill.  The  steepest  road 
needs  the  side  ditch  most,  but  often  has  none.  Frequently  the 
water  runs  down  the  middle  of  the  road  on  a  side  hill  and  wears  it 
into  gullies,  which  are  a  discomfort  and  perhaps  dangerous,  in 
both  wet  weather  and  dry.  The  water  must  not  be  suffered  to  run 
in  the  road,  but  must  be  made  to  run  0^~the  road. 

As  a  rule  the  side  ditches  can  not  have  too  much  fall,  but 
sometimes  a  ditch  straight  down  a  hill  will  have  so  much  fall  as 
to  wash  rapidly,  in  which  case  it  is  an  advantage  to  put  in  an 
obstruction  of  stone  or  brush.  In  extreme  cases  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  is  paved  with  stones. 

SURFACE  DRAINAGE. — The  surface  drainage  of  the  traveled 
portion  of  a  road  is  fully  as  important  as  its  underdrainage,  and  is 
provided  for  by  making  the  surface  crowning.  This  subject  will 
be  discussed  briefly  in  the  next  paragraph,  and  more  fully  under 
Maintenance  in  Part  II.  Drainage  of  the  surface  is  a  matter  chiefly 
affecting  the  maintenance  of  the  roads. 

THE  CROWN. 

The  slope  from -the  center  to  the  side  ditch  should  be  enough 
to  carry  the  water  freely  and  quickly  to  the  side  ditch.  A  crown 
at  the  center  of  12  inches  in  25  or  30  feet  is  sufficient.  The  better 
the  surface  is  cared  for,  i.  e.  the  smoother  the  surface  is  kept,  the 
less  the  crown  required,  as  will  appear  in  the  discussion  on  mainte- 
nance. If  there  is  not  enough  crown,  the  water  can  not  easily 
reach  the  side  ditches,  and  hence  the  road  soon  becomes  water 
soaked. 

The  crown  can  be  too  great.  More  water  will  stand  on  a  very 
convex  road  than  on  a  flatter  one.  If  the  side  slopes  are  so  steep 
that  traffic  keeps  continually  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  it  will  be 
worn  hollow  and  retain  the  water  instead  of  shedding  it  promptly 
to  the  side  ditches.  Again,  if  the  earth  is  piled  too  high  in  the 
middle,  the  side  slopes  will  be  washed  into  the  side  ditches,  which 
not  only  damages  the  road  but  fills  up  the  side  ditches.  Farther, 


IQOI.]  CONSTRUCTION   AND   CAKE   OF   EARTH    ROADS.  8l 

if  the  side  slopes  are  steep,  the  top  of  the  wheel  will  be  farther 
'  from  the  center  of  the  road  than  the  bottom,  and  the  mud  picked 
up  by  the  bottom  of  the  wheel  will  be  carried  to  the  top  of  the 
wheel  and  then  dropped  farther  from  the  center  of  the  road  than  it 
was  before.  Thus  each  vehicle  acts  like  a  plow  and  moves  the 
earth  from  the  center  toward  the  side  of  the  road. 

The  crown  should  be  greater  on  steep  grade  than  on  the  more 
level  portions,  since  on  the  grade  the  line  of  steepest  descent  is  not 
perpendicular  to  the  length  of  the  road  and  consequently  the  water 
in  getting  from  the  center  of  the  road  to  the  side  ditches  travels 
obliquely  down  the  road.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  custo- 
mary to  construct  "breaks,"  or  "  thank-you-ma'ams,"  or  "hum- 
mocks "  to  prevent  washing-.  These  "  breaks  "  are  V-shaped  ridges 
meeting-  in  the  center  of  the  road  with  the  point  up  hill.  The 
object  is  to  turn  the  water  into  the  side  ditches  instead  of  allowing 
it  to  continue  down  the  center  of  the  road.  Usually  the  ridges 
forming  the  branches  of  the  V  are  so  narrow  and  so  high  as  to 
form  a  serious  obstruction  to  the  traffic.  They  should  have  a  con- 
siderable breadth  so  that  wheels  can  easily  ascend  them  and  so 
horses  will  not  stumble  over  them.  However,  at  best  they  are  a 
clumsy  substitute  for  a  proper  adjustment  between  the  grade  of 
the  road  and  the  pitch  from  the  center  of  the  road  to  the  side  ditch. 

There  has  been  considerable  discussion  as  to  the  exact  form  to 
be  given  to  the  surface  of  the  roadway.  Some  claim  that  it  should 
be  the  arc  of  a  circle,  and  others  that  it  should  consist  of  two 
planes  meeting  at  the  center  and  having  their  junction  rounded  off 
with  a  short  curve.  Each  form  has  its  defects.  The  circular 
curve  is  defective  in  that  it  gives  too  little  inclination  near  the 
middle  and  too  much  near  the  sides,  the  result  being  that  the  road 
wears  hollow  in  the  center  and  permits  the  water  to  stand  there. 
The  objection  to  the  straight  sides  is  that  they  wear  hollow,  which 
interferes  with  surface  drainage.  The  latter  form  is  probably  the 
better,  but  great  refinement  in  this  matter  is  neither  possible  nor 
important. 

The  proper  crown  can  be  easily  and  cheaply  obtained  by  the 
use  of  the  road  machine  or  grader,  of  which  there  is  a  variety  of 
excellent  forms  on  the  market.  After  the  roadbed  has  been 
rounded  with  the  grader,  it  should  be  rolled  with  as  heavy  a  roller 
as  is  available.  Rolling  compacts  the  earth  and  prevents  it  from 
being  cut  up  by  subsequent  traffic,  and  also  prevents  the  earth 
from  washing  into  the  side  ditches.  The  road  should  not  be 
rounded  up  late  in  the  summer  or  in  the  fall,  for  then  the  earth 


82  BULLETIN  NO.  65.  {March, 

thrown  up  in  the  center  will  not  unite  with  the  foundation — even 
after  being-  rolled,  unless  the  fall  is  an  unusually  wet  one.  In  no 
case  should  a  ridge  of  loose  earth,  and  much  less  sods,  be  left  in 
the  center  of  the  roadway.  The  ridge  should  not  be  formed  at  all, 
but  the  earth  should  be  uniformly  distributed  over  the  roadway. 
However,  in  giving1  the  first  crown  to  a  roadway  mostly  sodded 
over,  it  is  nearly  impossible  at  the  beginning  of  the  work  to  pre- 
vent the  sods  from  accumulating  in  a  ridge  along-  the  center.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  they  should  be  torn  to  pieces  and  leveled 
down  by  the  use  of  a  harrow. 

A  common  defect  of  earth  roads  is  the  lack  of  any  attempt  at 
crown.  Seldom  a  mile  is  seen  of  which  all  is  properly  crowned. 
Often  a  cheap  wood-box  culvert  is  only  half  or  third  as  long  as  the 
traveled  way  is  wide,  and  hence  the  traffic  is  concentrated  upon  a 
small  part  of  the  width  of  the  road — and  that,  too,  is  a  low  place 
where  the  roadbed  is  wettest. 

II.  MAINTENANCE. 

Maintenance  is  important  with  any  road,  as  no  style  of  con- 
struction is  sufficiently  permanent  to  admit  of  the  road's  being  left 
to  take  care  of  itself.  Whether  built  of  earth  or  stone,  it  will 
eventually  wear  into  ruts  and  holes,  the  time  depending  upon  the 
quality  of  the  material,  the  form  of  construction,  and  the  amount 
of  the  traffic.  When  ruts  or  holes  have  been  formed,  the  deteri- 
oration of  the  road  will  proceed  rapidly  unless  repairs  are  promptly 
made. 

The  chief  object  in  the  maintenance  of  an  earth  road  is  to  get 
rid  of  the  water  as  quickly  and  as  fully  as  possible.  In  mainte- 
nance, as  in  construction,  water  is  the  great  enemy  of  good  roads. 
The  secret  of  success  in  maintenance  is  to  keep  the  surface  smooth 
and  the  side  ditches  open. 

The  building  and  caring  for  bridges  and  culverts  are  matters 
of  importance,  but  they  will  not  be  considered  in  this  article. 

CARE  OF  THE  SURFACE. 

If  the  surface  of  the  roadway  is  properly  formed  and  kept 
smooth,  the  water  will  be  shed  into  the  side  ditches  and  do  com- 
paratively little  harm;  but  if  it  remains  upon  the  surface,  it  will  be 
absorbed  and  convert  the  road  into  mud.  If  all  ruts,  depressions, 
and  mud  holes  are  not  filled  as  soon  as  they  appear,  they  will  re- 
tain the  water  upon  the  surface,  to  be  removed  only  by  gradually 
soaking  into  the  roadbed  and  by  slowly  evaporating;  and  each 
passing  wheel  or  hoof  will  help  to  destroy  the  road.  All  inequali- 


iQOI.J  CONSTRUCTION   AND   CARE   OF   EARTH    ROADS.  83 

ties  of  the  surface,  the  depressions  and  the  mud  holes,  are  caused 
by  water  softening-  the  roadbed.  A  hard  road  can  not  be  made  out 
of  soft  mud,  and  no  amount  of  labor  and  machinery  will  make  an 
earth  road  that  will  stay  good  unless  an  adequate  plan  is  adopted 
to  get  rid  of  the  water.  Water  is  hard  to  confine  and  easy  to  let 
loose.  It  is  always  seeking1  a  chance  to  run  down  hill.  The  chief 
duty  of  the  road  tender  is  to  give  it  a  chance  to  get  away. 

There  are  several  machines  or  devices  which  are  very  effective 
in  filling-  the  ruts  and  depressions,  and  in  keeping-  the  surface 
smooth.  Different  tools  are  best  under  different  conditions.  These 
tools  and  the  method  of  using-  them  will  be  considered  briefly. 

In  the  winter  there  frequently  come  times  when  the  road  is 
full  of  holes  and  ruts,  while  the  surface  soil  is  dry  and  mellow. 
This  condition  occurs  most  frequently  when  the  ground  below  the 
surface  is  frozen.  If  at  this  time  a  harrow  is  run  over  the  road,  it 
will  fill  up  the  ruts  and  holes  and  leave  the  surface  smooth.  This 
improves  the  road  for  present  travel,  and  gives  a  smooth  surface 
which  will  greatly  decrease  the  deterioration  of  the  road  by  sub- 
sequent rains.  Often  there  is  only  a  few  hours  in  the  middle  of 
the  day  when  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground  sufficiently  to  permit 
this  work  to  be  done,  and  therefore  it  is  best  to  have  each  farmer 
harrow  the  road  adjoining  his  own  land.  The  ordinary  adjusta- 
ble farm  harrow  should  be  used,  and  the  teeth  should  be  set  to 
slope  well  back.  The  labor  required  is  not  great,  since  a  12-foot 
harrow  can  be  used,  and  then  a  single  round  is  sufficient.  The 
work  comes  at  a  time  of  the  year  when  the  farmer's  time  is  usually 
not  very  valuable,  and  hence  the  expense  is  small.  The  writer  has 
seen  frequent  examples  of  this  method  of  treating  the  roads,  which 
have  proved  very  beneficial  both  in  securing  good  roads  and  pre- 
serving them. 

In  the  early  spring  just  after  the  frost  goes  out  of  the  ground, 
earth  roads  are  usually  full  of  deep  ruts.  At  this  time  the  roads 
can  be  greatly  improved  by  running  over  them  that  tool  called  in- 
differently "  road  machine,"  "  road  grader,"  "  road  plane,"  or  "road 
leveler."  The  object  is  simply  to  cut  off  the  ridges  and  fill  up  the 
ruts,  and  thus  "break  the  way  "  for  travel.  It  is  well  to  break  the 
road  early  in  the  season,  both  to  accommodate  the  present  travel 
and  to  hasten  the  coming  of  a  better  condition  of  the  road.  It  is 
much  more  economical  to  make  the  road  smooth  with  the  machine 
than  to  wear  it  down  by  travel. 

There  are  many  road  machines  on  the  market,  all  of  which 
are  most  excellent  for  certain  kinds  of  work  to  be  referred  to  later, 
but  most  of  which  are  too  heavy  and  too  elaborate  to  fit  the  con- 


84  buLLEtiN  NO.  65.  [March, 

ditions  just  described.  The  machines  are  mounted  upon  four 
wheels,  and  of  themselves  are  a  considerable  load  over  roads  which 
are  only  a  succession  of  ridges,  ruts,  and  mud  holes;  and  are 
heavier  and  more  cumbersome  than  is  necessary  for  the  work  now 
under  consideration.  The  writer  has  seen  a  heavy  stick  of  timber 
shod  with  a  steel  plate  and  drawn  by  two  horses,  used  for  this 
purpose  with  great  success.  He  has  also  seen  a  railroad  rail  so 
used.  The  rail  is  usually  14  or  16  feet  long,  and  is  drawn  by  four 
horses.  When  the  ground  is  mellow  and  loose  after  freezing  and 
thawing,  the  rail  will  smooth  the  road  down  nicely,  and  doit  more 
rapidly  than  the  road  machine,  since  it  cuts  a  wider  swath.  One 
round  trip  is  sufficient  for  any  road.  The  time  when  the  work  is 
most  advantageously  done  is  comparatively  limited,  and  therefore 
one  rail  should  not  be  expected  to  cover  too  much  road.  If  the 
roads  are  treated  with  the  light  scraper  or  railroad  rail,  they  will 
not  get  so  rough  and  hence  will  not  require  so  much  work  later 
with  the  heavy  road  machine. 

Second-hand  railroad  rails  can  usually  be  bought  in  the  great 
cities  of  dealers  in  railroad  material.  One  weighing  50  to  60 
pounds  per  yard  (that  is  the  way  the  size  is  designated)  is  heavy 
enough.  A  7-inch  steel  I-beam  weighing  15  pounds  per  foot  is 
equally  good,  and  can  always  be  had  in  the  great  cities  of  dealers 
in  structural  metal.  In  either  case  the  cost  is  so  small  that  one 
could  be  owned  for  each  few  miles  of  road. 

In  the  late  spring  after  the  ground  has  settled,  the  roads 
should  be  prepared  for  summer  travel  by  being  shaped  up  with  the 
"  road  machine"  or  "  road  grader."  When  this  work  is  to  be  done, 
the  ground  is  comparatively  dry,  and  consequently  the  heavier  road 
scraper  is  required  and  can  be  handled  on  the  roads.  It  is  some- 
what unfortunate  that  this  tool  is  ordinarily  called  a  road  grader, 
since  the  name  has  possibly  led  to  a  misconception  as  to  an  im- 
portant use  of  the  machine.  As  an  instrument  of  road  construction, 
this  machine  is  used  to  give  a  crown  to  the  road;  but  as  an  instru- 
ment of  maintenance,  it  should  be  used  only  to  smooth  the  surface 
and  restore  the  original  crown.  Apparently  some  operators  assume 
that  the  machine  is  not  to  be  used  except  to  increase  the  crown  of 
the  road.  Employed  in  this  way  the  crown  is  made  too  great,  and 
a  big  ridge  of  loose  earth  is  left  in  the  middle  of  the  road  which 
only  slowly  consolidates  and  which  is  likely  to  be  washed  into  the 
side  ditches  to  make  trouble  there.  Since  the  introduction  of  the 
road  machine  there  has  developed  a  strong  tendency  to  increase  the 
crown  of  the  road  unduly.  Doubtless  the  object  is  to  secure  better 
drainage  of  the  roadbed,  but  piling  up  the  earth  is  an  inadequate 


IgOI.]  COSTRUCTlON   AND   CARE    OF   EARTH    ROADS.  85 

substitute  for  tile  drainage.  Side  slopes  steeper  than  just  enough 
to  turn  the  water  into  the  side  ditches  are  a  detriment.  Other 
things  being  equal,  the  best  road  to  travel  on  or  to  haul  a  load  over 
is  a  perfectly  flat  one. 

In  smoothing  the  road,  the  road  machine  should  be  run  over 
the  ground  lightly  so  as  to  smooth  down  the  ridges  and  fill  up 
the  ruts.  Only  enough  earth  should  be  moved  toward  the  center 
of  the  roadway  to  replace  that  washed  down  by  the  rains.  The 
blade  should  stand  nearly  square  across  the  road,  and  considerable 
earth  should  be  shoved  along  in  front  of  the  blade  so  as  to  have 
enough  loose  earth  to  fill  any  depressions.  The  surplus  earth 
should  be  evenly  distributed  along  on  the  surface.  This  work 
should  be  done  early — before  the  ground  becomes  hard  and  difficult 
to  work,  and  before  traffic  has  been  compelled  partially  to  do  the 
work  of  the  road  leveler,  and  while  the  surface  is  in  condition  to 
unite  with  the  loose  earth  left  by  the  machine.  Unfortunately  this 
work  is  often  postponed  until  the  ground  is  so  hard  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  do  a  thoroughly  good  job.  If  the  ground  is  a  little  too 
wet  for  agricultural  tillage  it  is  all  the  better  for  roadmaking, 
since  it  will  pack  better  than  though  it  were  drier.  During-  the 
summer,  if  the  road  becomes  very  badly  rutted,  the  road  machine 
should  be  run  lightly  over  it. 

In  the  summer  when  the  roads  get  roughed  up,  they  can  be 
materially  improved  at  small  expense  by  running  over  them  with 
a  harrow  having  the  teeth  down  quite  flat.  If  the  roads  are  a 
little  muddy,  this  treatment  will  make  them  dry  faster  and  also 
make  them  much  more  pleasant  to  use  after  they  have  dried. 

Finally,  during  the  fall  the  roads  s'hould  be  repaired  with 
special  reference  to  getting  them  into  good  shape  for  the  winter. 
Any  saucer-like  depressions  or  ruts  should  be  filled  with  earth  like 
that  of  the  roadbed.  The  material  should  be  solidly  tamped  into 
place.  Holes  and  ruts  shouM  never  be  filled  with  stone,  bricks,  or 
coarse  gravel.  The  hard  material  will  not  wear  uniform  with  the 
rest  of  the  road,  but  produce  bumps  and  ridges,  and  usually  result 
in  making  two  holes,  each  larger  than  the  original  one.  It  is  a 
bad  practice  to  cut  a  gutter  from  a  hole  to  drain  it  to  the  side  of 
the  road.  Filling  it  is  the  proper  course,  whether  the  hole  is  dry 
or  contains  mud.  The  holes  most  requiring  attention  are  found 
at  the  end  of  bridges  and  along  the  sides  of  small  wooden  box 
culverts. 

CARE  OF  SIDE  DITCHES. 
The  side  ditches  should  be  examined  in  the  fall  to  see  that 


86  BULLETIN  NO.  65.  {March, 

thev  are  free  from  dead  weeds  and  grass;  and  late  in  the  winter 
they  should  be  examined  again  to  see  that  they  are  not  clogged 
with  corn  stalks,  brush,  etc.,  washed  in  from  the  fields.  The  mouth 
of  culverts  should  also  be  cleared  of  rubbish,  and  the  outlet  of  tile 
drains  should  be  opened.  Attention  to  side  ditches  will  prevent 
overflow  and  washing-  of  the  road-bed,  and  will  also  prevent  the 
formation  of  ponds  at  the  roadside  and  the  consequent  saturation 
of  the  roadbed.  The  road  care-taker  should  frequently  go  over 
his  portion  of  the  road,  particularly  during  the  rainy  season  and 
especially  just  as  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  is  going  off,  for  it  is  then 
that  the  most  damage  is  done.  Fortunately,  this  work  will  not 
interfere  with  farm  work. 

CARE  OF  TREES  AND  HEDGES. 

Roads  should  have  plenty  of  light  and  air.  Of  course  a  shady 
road  is  very  nice  on  a  hot  day;  but  such  a  road  can  not  be  kept  in 
good  condition,  since  shade  is  nearly  sure  to  breed  mud  holes. 
Therefore  the  road  officials  should  use  all  possible  diplomacy  to 
have  trees  adjoining  the  road,  particularly  those  on  the  south  side, 
trimmed  with  reference  to  the  benefits  of  the  roads. 

A  tall  hedge  cuts  off  the  view  of  the  adjacent  country,  shuts 
out  the  breeze,  and  in  a  dry  time  keeps  in  the  dust  and  in  a  wet 
time  retards  the  drying  of  the  road.  Therefore  the  road  officials 
should  enforce  the  law  concerning  cutting  of  hedges. 

CARE  OF  THE  ROADSIDE. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  in  each  com- 
munity the  roadside  will  be  cared  for  so  as  to  secure  a  coating  of 
grass  instead  of  unsightly  and  noxious  weeds.  This  can  be 
accomplished  with  an  occasional  mowing  at  but  slight  expense. 

SAND  ROADS. 

Roads  on  pure  or  nearly  pure  sand  require  very  different  treat- 
ment than  roads  on  clay  and  loam.  Dampness  improves  the  sand 
road,  while  it  damages  a  clay  or  loam  road.  The  preceding  rules 
for  the  drainage  of  loam  or  clay  roads  must  be  reversed  for  sand 
roads.  Wet  sand  makes  a  better  road  than  dry  sand,  and  therefore 
draining  a  sand  road  is  useless  and  possibly  a  damage.  Of  course, 
this  is  not  true  of  quicksand,  but  there  is  very  little,  if  any,  of  that 
in  the  roads.  Roads  on  quicksand  are  improved  by  drainage. 

Sand  roads  are  usually  nearly  level  and  need  little,  if  any, 
grading.  They  should  not  be  crowned,  since  they  do  not  need  surface 
drainage.  The  traveled  portion  should  be  simply  leveled  off. 


1QOI.]  CONSTRUCTION   AND   CARE   OF   EARTH   ROADS.  87 

The  great  disadvantage  of  pure  sand  as  a  road  material  is  the 
freedom  with  which  the  grains  move  one  on  the  other.  Therefore 
to  improve  a  sand  road  encourage  grass  to  occupy  all  the  space  pos- 
sible. The  roots  will  decrease  the  movement  of  the  grains  under 
the  tread  of  the  hoofs  and  wheels.  It  will  sometimes  pay  to  give 
sandy  roads  a  heavy  coat  of  manure  to  strengthen  the  grass.  It  is 
an  advantage  if  low  growing  bushy  vegetation  occupies  the  sur- 
face clear  up  to  the  traveled  way — both  for  the  shade  and  for  the 
binding  effect  of  the  roots. 

Shade  harms  a  loam  or  clay  road,  but  improves  a  road  of  sand 
or  broken  stone,  since  it  prevents  the  evaporation  of  the  moisture 
from  the  roadbed.  Therefore  a  sand  road  can  be  permanently  im- 
proved by  planting  trees  so  .as  to  shade  the  traveled  way.  They 
will  prevent,  in  part,  the  drying  effect  of  the  winds,  as  well  as  in- 
terscept  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

A  road  on  pure  sand  is  improved  temporarily  by  covering  it 
with  a  thin  layer  of  any  vegetable  fiber,  as  decaying  leaves,  straw, 
marsh  hay,  waste  from  sorghum  mills  (begasse),|fibrous  or  string- 
like  shavings,  etc.  This  fibrous  material  soon  becomes  incorpor- 
ated with  the  sand  and  decreases  its  mobility.  The  vegetable 
matter  decays  and  wears  out,  and  consequently  the  effect  is  com- 
paratively temporary.  The  length  of  time  such  expedients  will 
last  depends  upon  the  climate  and  the  amount  of  travel.  Sand 
roads  improved  with  three  to  four  inches  of  shredded  wood  (excel- 
sior) have  kept  in  reasonable  condition  for  a  year  or  two. 

The  only  thorough  and  permanent  improvement  possible  for 
a  sand  road  is  to  add  a  layer  of  tough  clay  and  incorporate  it  with 
the  sand.  This  is  expensive  at  best,  and  it  is  difficult  to  get  the 
sand  and  clay  thoroughly  incorporated  in  the  right  proportions. 

"WiLL  IT  PAY?" 

Perhaps  some  will  say  that  to  carry  out  the  preceding  recom- 
mendations will  cost  too  much.  All  improvements  and  advances 
in  civilization  cost.  Will  the  suggested  improvements  in  con- 
struction and  maintenance  pay?  They  will  make  better  roads, 
which  will  decrease  somewhat  the  cost  of  travel;  but  the  saving 
in  cost  of  transportation  and  miscellaneous  travel  will  probably 
not  be  equal  to  the  increased  cost  of  securing  the  better  roads. 
To  live  in  a  good  house  costs  more  than  to  live  in  a  poor  one. 
Good  roads  are  desirable  for  the  same  reason  that  a  man  buys  a 
carriage  or  builds  a  fine  house,  i.  e.,  because  they  are  a  comfort 
and  a  pleasure.  Whether  good  roads  "will  pay"  or  not,  depends 


88  BULLETIN  NO.  65.  March, 

upon  the  relative  estimate  put  upon  money  and.  labor  on  the  one 
side  and  comfort  and  convenience  of  travel  on  the  other.  The 
man  who  prefers  to  ride  in  a  lumber  wag-on  because  it  is  cheaper 
than  a  carriage,  will  prefer  to  ride  in  the  mud  instead  of  spending 
money  or  labor  in  improving-  the  roads.  It  is  certain  that  comfort 
and  ease  of  travel  add  to  the  knowledg-e  and  intelligence  of  the 
citizen,  and  thus  indirectly,  but  none  the  less  certainly,  add  to  his 
ability  to  get  on  in  the  world.  A  reasonable  expenditure  for  good 
roads  is  always  a  good  investment — financially,  socially,  and  edu- 
cationally— for  any  community.  The  construction  of  stone  roads 
may  or  may  not  be  a  reasonable  expenditure — that  depends  upon 
the  local  conditions, — but  it  is  believed  that  there  are  many  com- 
munities in  Illinois  in  which  an  observance  of  any  or  all  of  the 
preceding1  suggestions  would  materially  improve  the  road  at  a  com- 
paratively small  expenditure  of  money  or  labor. 

III.  ADMINISTRATION. 

The  difficulties  encountered  in  maintaining-  a  well-constructed 
system  of  highways  in  any  locally  governed  community  have  always 
been  very  great.  In  America  the  management  of  roads  has  rested 
upon  local  authorities — either  counties  or  towns.  Within  the  past 
ten  years,  a  comparatively  few  miles  of  road  in  a  few  states  have 
been  placed  under  the  control  of  state  authorities;  but  in  most  of 
these  states  this  control  relates  to  the  original  construction,  or 
rather  reconstruction,  of  these  roads,  and  not  to  the  maintenance. 
Therefore  at  present  the  maintenance  of  the  public  highways  in 
America  depends  wholly  upon  the  local  authorities. 

It  is  very,  common  for  road  reformers  to  denounce  the  present 
system  of  road  administration.  It  is  easy  to  criticise  existing  evils, 
to  point  out  unerringly  the  radical  defects  of  the  present  system,  to 
condemn  unsparingly  the  incongruities  of  the  diversified  provisions 
of  the  statute  books  relative  to  roads,  and  to  join  the  general 
chorus  of  reform.  Unquestionably  the  present  system  is  not  ideally 
perfect,  but  a  practical  solution  of  the  problem — one  that  will  meet 
all  the  conditions  of  the  case — will  be  found  difficult  of  attainment. 
It  is  probably  impossible  to  make  any  radical  change  in  the  present 
system,  and  it  would  probably  be  unwise  to  make  such  changes  if 
they  could  be  secured.  It  is  better  and  more  practicable  to  grow 
gradually  into  a  better  system,  by  first  making  those  changes 
most  needed  or  those  most  easily  obtained. 

It  would  be  unwise  to  attempt  an  elaborate  discussion  of  road 
administration  in  this  paper,  and  therefore  the  writer  will  present 


IgOI.]  CONSTRUCTION   AND   CARE   OF   EARTH    ROADS.  89 

only  a  few  somewhat  disconnected  observations  upon  the  general 
subject. 

LABOR  vs.  CASH  TAX. 

It  is  usually  assumed  that  the  labor-tax  system  is  all  wrong, 
and  that  the  evils  thereof  would  be  escaped  by  paying  road  taxes 
in  cash.  Assuming  that  Champaign  County  is  representative  of 
the  entire  state,  the  following  conclusions  may  be  drawn  from 
statistics  collected  by  the  writer  from  the  township  officials  for  the 
year  1900.  Apparently  no  similar  statistics  have  ever  before  been 
collected;  and  hence  it  can  not  be  known  how  nearly  Champaign 
County  is  representative;  but  it  is  believed  that  in  most  respects 
it  represents  an  average  for  the  state. 

1.  The  poll-labor  tax  is  not  very  great,  being  only  $2.49  per 
mile  of  road.     A  defense  of  this  tax  is  that  it  is  practically  the 
only  tax  paid  by  farm  laborers,  or  "  hired  men."     Besides  many  of 
these  men,  for  obvious  reasons,  pay  this  tax  in  cash.     A  district 
road  tax  is  levied  in  half  of  the  townships.     This  tax  may  be  paid 
in   labor  or  cash,  but  is  usually  paid  in  labor,  only  a  few  non- 
resident land  owners  paying  in  cash.     Where  levied,  it  amounts 
to  an  average  of  $8.44  per  mile  of  road,  the  range  being  from  $3.51 
to  $13.39.     Therefore  in  half  the   townships  the  total  labor  tax 
(the  poll  tax)  is  $2.49  per  mile  of  road,  and  in  the  other  half  the 
total  labor  tax  is  $2.49+8.44=$10.93  per  mile  of  road.     The  aver- 
age cash   road-tax  is  $23.93,  varying  from  $11.70  to  $3470,  the 
wide  range  being   due  to   the  difference   in  the   number  of  new 
bridges  built.     Therefore  in  the  townships  having  both  the  poll 
and  the  property  labor-tax,  the  labor  tax  amounts  to  only  about 
one-third  of  the  total  road  taxes.     Hence,  even  if  the  statute  labor 
is  inefficient,  the  inefficiency  affects  only  one   third   of  the  road 
taxes. 

2.  Is  it  certain  that  the  "  farmer"  is  any  less  efficient  when 
working  out  his  labor  tax.than  the  "  town  man''  when  laboring  on 
the  city  streets  under  the  cash  system?     Perhaps  simply  changing 
to  the  cash  system  would  not  improve  matters. 

3.  If   the    labor-tax   is  inefficient,    it   is   wholly,  or   at  least 
chiefly,  because  of  inefficient  officials.     City  streets  are  maintained 
on  the  cash  system.     Are  they  cared  for   better  or  more  economi- 
cally than  rural  highways? 

4.  Road  taxes  are  assessed  by  farmers  and  paid  by  farmers. 
Probably  any  farmer  would  more  willingly  assess  himself  a  road 
tax  of  $2   payable  in  labor  than  $1  payable  in  cash.     If  so,  then 


90  BULLETIN  NO.  65.  [March* 

the  difference  between  the  labor-tax  and  the  cash-tax  systems  is 
not  as  great  as  is  frequently  claimed. 

5.  England  and  France  are  justly  noted  for  their  excellent 
roads,  and  both  have  the  labor-tax  system.  Therefore  it  is  possi- 
ble to  have  good  roads  under  the  labor-tax  system. 

All  of  the  above  is  intended  to  suggest  that  the  much  abused 
labor-tax  system  is  not  necessarily  the  cause  of  inferior  roads,  nor 
the  cash-tax  system  in  itself  the  cause  of  improved  roads.  The 
one  thing  absolutely  necessary  for  successful  road  management  is 
effective  supervision  of  the  road  work.  Without  it  neither  system 
will  accomplish  much,  and  with  it  either  system  will  do  reason- 
ably well. 

Many  townships  in  this  and  other  states  have  changed  from 
the  labor-tax  system  to  the  cash-tax  system,  with  a  marked 
improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  roads, — due  chiefly,  if  not 
wholly,  to  better  administration.  For  in  many  of  these  cases  the 
so-called  cash-tax  system  is  practically  only  a  change  in  the 
method  of  administering  the  labor-tax  system.  Farmers  desiring 
to  do  so  are  given  an  opportunity  to  work  out  their  road  taxes 
under  the  cash  system.  Under  the  Iabor7tax  system  those  working 
upon  the  roads  receive  credit  on  their  road  taxes,  while  in  the 
so-called  cash  system  the  laborer  receives  an  order  which  is 
accepted  as  cash  in  paying  taxes.  -In  these  cases  the  public  senti- 
ment that  demanded  road  improvement  secured  the  change  from 
the  labor-tax  to  the  cash-tax,  and,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
also  secured  a  more  efficient  road  administration. 

There  are  several  matters  connected  with  the  relative  merits 
of  the  labor-tax  and  the  cash-tax  systems  that  are  worthy  of  con- 
sideration, but  it  is  not  wise  to  take  space  to  discuss  them  here. 
Among  these  questions  are:  The  effect  of  the  desire  of  the  official 
to  please  the  voter?  The  relative  skill  of  the  labor  obtained  under 
the  two  systems?  The  ability  to  get  the  work  done  at  the  best 
time?  The  relative  advantages  of  continual  maintenance  and 
annual  repairs? 

CONTRACT  SYSTEM. 

It  is  frequently  claimed  that  our  roads  would  be  much  better 
if  a  man  were  employed  to  give  his  entire  time  to  their  care.  This 
plan  has  some  promising  advantages,  and  is  probably  a  necessity 
with  broken  stone  roads  whose  maintenance  requires  intimate 
knowledge  and  constant  attendance.  Is  it  practicable  for  earth 
roads? 


IQOI.]  CONSTRUCTION   AND   CARE   OF   EARTH    ROADS.  9! 

In  Champaign   County  the   expenditures  in   1900  per  mile  of 
road  were  as  follows: 

1.  New  •'  iron"  bridges,  exclusive  of  county  aid — which  is  nearly  as  much 

more* $16.20 

2.  Drainage 6.32 

3.  Tile  culverts 1.32 

4.  Repairs  of  bridges  and  culverts 2.93 

5.  Grading  (not  simply  smoothing  and  leveling) 1.43 

6.  Smoothing  and  leveling  (not  grading) 2.83 

7.  Mowing  the  roadsides 1.14 

8.  Administration 2.69 


Total 134-86 

Item  1  in  the  above  table  is  certainly  expended  by  contract 
with  specialists;  and  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  item  2  is  likewise  so 
expended.  A  large  part  of  items  3  and  4  is  spent  for  material. 
Therefore,  practically,  only  items  5,  6,  and  7  remain  for  the  subject 
of  a  contract  with  a  special  road  attendant.  The  sum  of  these 
items  is  $5.40  per  mile  of  road.  Even  though  something'  be  added 
for  the  labor  involved  in  items  2,  3,  and  4,  the  total  will  be  so 
small  that  the  road  attendant  under  the  contract  system  must  have 
under  his  care  so  many  miles  of  road  that  he  must  change  his  place 
of  abode  from  day  today  or  waste  a  great  deal  of  time  in  traveling 
to  and  from  his  work.  Farther,  he  must  have  so  many  miles  of 
road  under  his  care  that  he  can  visit  any  particular  piece  only  at 
long  intervals;  and  therefore  can  not  do  the  work  at  the  most 
favorable  time,  and  can  not  become  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  road.  These  objections  have  less  force  in  the  townships 
spending  more  than  the  average  for  these  items.  The  range  of 
the  expenditures  for  grading,  smoothing,  and  mowing  in  Cham- 
paign County  is  from  $1.12  to  $15.33.  The  above  objections  also 
have  less  force  if  the  major  part  of  the  money  is  concentrated  upon 
a  comparatively  small  proportion  of  the  roads  of  a  township.  All 
of  the  above  is  intended  to  show  that  the  contract  system  is  not 
universally  applicable,  although  there  may  be  circumstances  under 
which  it  is  the  best  method  of  maintaining  earth  roads. 

The  farmer  who  travels  a  particular  road  frequently,  and  in 
all  kinds  of  weather,  can  have  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  it 

*In  this  item  Champaign  County  is  probably  not  representative  of  the  state. 
From  one  point  of  view,  it  would  be  expected  that  Champaign  County  would! 
spend  less  for  bridges  than  other  parts  of  the  state,  since  it  is  flat,  and  has  but  a 
few  small  streams.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  several  large  dredged  ditches,, 
and  the  bridges  over  them  are  first  class  steel  structures  on  high  grade  stone 
abutments.  Therefore  it  is  probable  that  this  item  is  considerably  larger  thaa 
the  average  of  the  remainder  of  the  state. 


•92  BULLETIN  NO.  65.  [March, 

than  the  man  who  sees  it  only  occasionally;  and  therefore  for  this 
reason  the  farmer  is  best  able  to  care  for  the  road.  The  plan  of 
having-  the  farmer  work  the  roads  is  frequently  compared  to  a  rail- 
road's occasionally  sending-  out  its  clerks  to  care  for  the  track. 
There  is  almost  no  similarity  in  the  two  cases.  (1)  Much  of  the 
farmer's  daily  work  is  very  similar  to  road  work;  (2)  the  amount 
of  labor  required  per  mile  of  road  is  very  different  in  the  two  cases; 
and  (3)  the  farmer's  acquaintance  with  the  road  is  continuous  and 
intimate.  Besides  the  farmer  uses  the  road  more  than  anybody 
else,  and  he  alone  pays  for  it. 

"TnK  ROAD  TAXES  ARE  WASTED." 

Not  infrequently  it  is  claimed  that  since  the  road  taxes  pro- 
duce no  permanently  hard  roads,  the  money  is  wasted.  This  claim 
is  almost  wholly  false.  In  the  first  place,  a  considerable  part  of 
•all  road  taxes  is  spent  for  grading,  drainag-e,  tile  and  stone  cul- 
verts, and  new  steel  bridg-es, — all  of  which  are  permanent  improve- 
ments which  would  be  absolutely  required  by  hard  roads.  The 
roads  of  every  community  are  continually  growing-  better.  There 
has  been  a  marvelous  improvement  in  twenty  years. 

Farther,  a  considerable  expenditure  of  time  and  money  is 
Tequired  to  prevent  the  roads  from  steadily  growing-  worse.  A 
man  is  justly  commended  for  not  suffering-  his  house  to  decay  for 
the  lack  of  care,  but  the  road  official  is  severely  condemned  because 
he  spends  money  in  caring-  for  the  house  already  built  and  does 
not  add  a  $10,000  Mansard  roof  to  the  cottag-e  still  in  process  of 
construction.  A  new  coat  of  paint  and  a  new  roof  protect  the 
house  ag-ainst  the  attacks  of  wind  and  weather,  but  the  road  offi- 
-cial  is  accused  of  wasting-  money  if  he  protects  the  road  against 
the  ravag-es  of  water  and  traffic. 

WHAT  CAN  BE  DONE? 

1.  It  is  believed  that  material  improvement  can  be  attained 
by  paying  more  attention  to  the  office  of  Highway  Commissioner 
and  Pathmaster.  Elect  only  the  very  best  men  without  regard  to 
party,  men  who  have  judgment  in  business  affairs,  who  have  ideas 
on  road  making  and  maintenance,  who  have  skill  in  directing-  the 
labor  of  others,  and  who  will  give  to  their  official  duties  their  best 
endeavor.  If  they  do  reasonably  well  and  are  continually  seeking- 
to  increase  their  road  knowledge  and  to  improve  the  roads  under 
their  care,  continue  them  in  office.  If  not,  try  again  to  find  some 
one  who  will  do  these  thing's.  Dignify  the  office  by  every  means 
possible. 


IQOI.l  CONSTRUCTION   AND   CARE    OF    EARTH    ROADS.  93. 

2.  In   private   conversation   and   in   public  meeting-,  discuss 
ways  and  means  of  improving-  the  earth  roads.     Org-anize  for  the 
purpose  of  creating-  interest  in  common  earth  roads.     As  soon  as 
possible  adopt  rules  for  the  guidance  of  the  road  officials,  and  then 
let  each  tax  payer  note  whether  these  rules  are  obeyed.     Do  not 
fail    to   give  due  credit  if  they  are;  and  if  they  are  not,  do  not 
shrink  from  entering-  a  respectful  protest.     Unless  the  earth  roads 
are  maintained  in  reasonably  g-ood  condition,  it  is  folly  even  to  talk 
of  constructing-  hig-h  priced  broken  stone  roads. 

3.  Divide  the  roads  up  and  allot  definite  s'ections  to  farmers, 
and  publish  these  allotments.     As  far  as  possible  require  each  man 
to  care  for  the  road  nearest  home  and  which  he  travels  most.     By 
private  conversation  and  public  meeting-  seek  to  stimulate  pride  in 
road  making-  and  maintenance,  and  try  to  secure  the  effect  of  com- 
petition in  road  work.    Possibly  have  annual  inspections  and  award 
prizes  and  diplomas.     Railroads  find  annual  inspections  and  nom- 
inal cash  prizes  and  diplomas  exceeding-ly  effective.     France  has  a 
system  of  gratuities  for  excellence  in  road  work. 

4.  Permanently  hard  roads  are  very  desirable  if  their  cost  is 
not  too  great,  but  remember  that  hig-h  class  stone  or  gravel  roads 
are  not  feasible  unless  the  roadbed  is  thoroug-hly  underdrained, 
and  unless  the  subgrade  is  adequately  crowned,  and   unless  the 
public  understands  the  superiority  of  perpetual  maintenance  over 
annual  repairs,  and  unless  the  road  officials  are  intellig-ent,  ener- 
g-etic,  and  conscientious.     Fortunately  these  thing's  are   the  very 
best  investments  for  earth  roads,  and  good  earth  roads  are  the  very 
best  preparation  for  g-ood  gravel  or  broken  stone  roads. 

5.  Do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  interest  in  g-ood  roads 
should  have  a  broader  foundation   than  mere  commercial  needs. 
Comfortable  and  easy  communication  between  the  members  of  a 
rural  community  and  also  between  the  rural  and  urban  inhabitants 
is  of  great  importance  in  the  social   and  educational  development 
of  a  community. 

Finally,  in  the  words  of  Professor  Shaler,  for  a  number  of 
years  the  able  President  of  the  Massachusetts  Highway  Commis- 
sion, in  speaking  of  the  roads  of  that  state:  "Those  who  h  ave 
the  betterment  of  our  highways  at  hearb  should  do  all  in  their 
power  to  guide,  direct,  and  even  restraia  the  present  movement,  so 
that  enthusiasm  may  be  guided  by  business  sense,  to  the  end  that 
we  may  attain  a  system  of  ways  properly  related  to  the  needs  of 
the  state." 


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